


Salutary - Gibbs' Gut Can Go Wrong

by cutsycat



Series: Dictionary.Com Word of the Day Drabbles [1405]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 11:10:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21252443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutsycat/pseuds/cutsycat
Summary: Gibbs followed his gut when he helped Maddie and it was disastrous. Can Gibbs learn that his gut isn't always right?





	Salutary - Gibbs' Gut Can Go Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> Another dictionary.com word of the day drabble. This time from 03/06/2003 for the word [salutary](http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/2003/03/06/salutary).
> 
> salutary[ sal-yuh-ter-ee ]  
adjective  
favorable to or promoting health; healthful.  
promoting or conducive to some beneficial purpose; wholesome.
> 
> This is for Prompt #3 of the August 2019 Five Prompts Challenge located [here](https://ncis-discuss.livejournal.com/205016.html).

When Maddie contacted him about the guy that was following her and not feeling safe, Gibbs had immediately gone with his gut. He usually followed his gut. He’d gotten the team looking into whatever they could find on the guy while he headed out to personally ensure Maddie’s safety. 

Maybe this was his chance to make up for not saving Kelly. It wouldn’t take away the guilt of losing his daughter and not being able to protect her, but if he could save her friend it would help. When he realized that the people after her wanted money that had stupidly been sent to her, Gibbs followed his gut and came up with a plan to give it to them so that they would leave her alone. 

Maddie would have done whatever he said. She trusted him. It wasn’t until the car was sinking into the water that he realized that he’d made a mistake in trusting his gut and not keeping the team in the loop. 

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw DiNozzo appear underwater with him. He gestured to Maddie because he couldn’t lose her and Tony glared, but followed his order. He knew it would probably mean his death, but he didn’t care if he saved Maddie. Tony wasn’t about to let that happen, however, and was soon doing CPR on both Maddie and Gibbs to keep them alive. 

After everyone was checked out and Maddie sent home or to a new home since she wasn’t going back to that apartment again, Tony turned to Gibbs. “What do you think you were doing?”

“I knew you’d figure it out, DiNozzo.” Gibbs hadn’t, but he figured Tony would be distracted by the rare praise and drop it.

Tony wasn’t interested in the praise though. “You can’t do things like this, Gibbs. You need to let us in. You can’t just go haring off on your own anytime your gut is going off.”

Gibbs frowned. He knew that. He’d made a mistake, not that he planned on admitting that. “What’s it to you?”

“Ducky isn’t the only one that cares about you, Gibbs. We all do and what you did was not salutary for you. Your death does not affect only you, Gibbs. Trust us to have your back like you do ours.” Tony practically begged at the end, hoping the emotion would get through Gibbs’ thick skull. 

“I know that, Tony. I’ll try to be better about it.”

“See that you do. I don’t want to go through this again.”

Gibbs patted Tony on the back comfortingly as they returned to NCIS to finish up the paperwork this case generated. Tony was back to normal and prattling on, but Gibbs was still thinking about how he’d followed his gut and almost lost Maddie. This was a case where he shouldn’t have followed his instincts.

It had worked out this time, but there was no guarantee it would in the future. He didn’t know how to tell when he should and shouldn’t follow his gut, but he would definitely not just follow it blindly anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> The dictionary.com series has no stories already written for it after this one, so I will be posting at least no more stories before I stop posting again. I'm hoping to get more stories written before then, so that I don't stop posting for a while. Wish me luck! 
> 
> It's 2019 now and I have closed my 2018 Prompt collection, but fear not my 2019 Prompt Collection is now open [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2019/profile). Just click the sign up link. ;) It will remain open until the beginning of 2020. I'm hoping to complete all the 2019 prompts by the end of 2020. Do not fear I have not forgotten about the 2018 prompts and will continue working through them. It's just easier for me to not get overwhelmed if I keep the prompts separated by the year they were given to me.
> 
> If you are not an ao3 member, you can prompt me [here](http://cutsycat.livejournal.com/50701.html). Please follow the same rules as are listed in the above link. However, because this is a handmade prompt form(that thinks it's a poll), it is considerably more limited than what ao3 provides, so please use the ao3 form if you're an ao3 member. Please note the name option is for a name that I can say this is for so that you know it's for you. Since this is for non ao3 members it won't be true gifts, but you will be mentioned in the notes. Please note if you have already voted in the poll and would like to request more stories you can just add a comment to the poll. Please include the name along with the prompt, so that I can appropriately gift the prompt to you.
> 
> For any authors that want to chat and/or are looking for a place where they can toss plot ideas around and get input from people, you can come join my discord server that is specifically geared towards writing/encouraging people to write and authors. The invite link is [here](https://discord.gg/HFvwpCq). If you're not an author, but want to chat with me about writing/stories or anything else you are welcome to join. I reserve the right to boot you from my server if all you do is pester me about updates, however. *grin* Really anyone who wants to talk about writing and/or plot ideas for various stories is welcome to join. 
> 
> Also, Drakonyashka has translated a couple of my works into Russian. [Tutelage](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378780) and [Imbue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378840). Go support them. 


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